The Westwood Land Trust is a volunteer-run nonprofit founded in 1999. Working with landowners and the Town, we have preserved over 220 acres of open space through legally binding conservation restrictions. These agreements are designed to last forever.
Today, that permanence is being challenged.
The Town of Westwood has filed a lawsuit seeking to force Westwood Land Trust to allow an agricultural use on the meadow at 665 Clapboardtree Street that would destroy the view scape and natural meadow. This land is permanently protected by a conservation easement that Westwood Land Trust is charged with enforcing. Although the land was given to the Town of Westwood by private donors, the Town’s use of the land is subject to the conservation easement that the donors placed on the property. This lawsuit threatens to undermine the land trust’s mission to protect open space and natural resources, such as the Clapboardtree Meadow at issue in the suit.
What’s Happening?
Why It Matters
Environmental Impact: The Clapboardtree Street meadow is a pristine ecological preserve, providing vital habitat for plants, pollinators, and wildlife. Converting it to agricultural use would irreversibly damage this public asset.
Legal Consequences: Conservation restrictions are permanent land protections. The holders of those restrictions are non-profit organizations dedicated to furthering the public good. They should not have to spend money and scarce economic resources defending against lawsuits that seek to erode the public benefits of those restrictions. If successful, this lawsuit would destroy one of Westwood’s most valuable ecological treasures.
Taxpayer Impact: This lawsuit is funded by public dollars. Residents are paying to challenge protections that the Town itself agreed to years ago when it accepted the land donation.
